Listening to Erik Gudbranson, you would want to pay him more than $4 million a year to play for your hockey team.

He’s eloquent, passionate and oozes old-school hockey bravado.

His response Wednesday to the Canucks’ lack of one when Trevor Lewis cross-checked Brock Boeser in the back last week was everything.

“I think there should have been a push-back for sure,” he said. “I was watching that and I was frustrated in the locker-room there wasn’t much going on after that. It’s certainly something I bring.”

It is, but the Canucks have to pause and think long and hard about how much that’s worth.

Tough players have value. But there will be plenty of viable options before next season that won’t cost the Canucks $16 million over four years.

Vancouver and Gudbranson have arrived at a crossroads. The defenceman they jumped at acquiring when the Florida Panthers called in May 2016 is five months away from unrestricted free agency.

The trade deadline is Feb. 26 and before then, it’s expected Gudbranson will be traded or re-signed.

Since arriving in Vancouver, by any reasonable assessment, Gudbranson’s time with the Canucks has been a disappointment. The team hasn’t won much and he hasn’t played much.

Wrist, shoulder and back injuries have limited him to just 62 games. When asked if it’s impacted his value in the NHL, he said: “Probably. I have to find a way to not be injured. Severely.”

Even with injuries, Gudbranson, a former third overall pick, is still considered valuable by many in the game.

His head coach Travis Green said defencemen like him are increasingly difficult to find.

“You look at some of the teams in our division,” Green said. “When we get to that playoffs stage, he’s a very valuable player in my eyes.

“And can be for a good team and that’s where we’re pushing our team to get to.”

If the Canucks value team toughness, Darren Archibald â seen roughhousing Connor McDavid in Vancouver’s preseason finale â is labouring in Utica and doesn’t have an NHL contract.DARRYL DYCK /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

But Green hasn’t played Gudbranson like an important piece of his plan. Gudbranson is averaging just 17:44 in per-game ice time, which is the fewest minutes he’s played since his rookie season.

He’s got to 20 minutes in only one-third of the games he’s played, and among Green’s most regularly used defencemen only Troy Stecher is averaging less playing time.

Green had glowing things to say about Gudbranson, praising his toughness, skating and puck moving (when he’s playing well).

Still, the ice time the coach carves out for the player speaks volumes.

For the past two weeks, Gudbranson has been a hot topic of conversation because there is potential the Canucks could move him before the deadline.

Many analysts have compared him to Roman Polak. They’re not wrong. Polak is big, tough and generally ineffective in suppressing shot attempts against.

But the Canucks are controlling just 40.94 per cent of the shots on net when Gudbranson is on the ice. It’s the lowest ratio among defencemen, not only on his team but in the entire NHL. Let that rattle around in your brain for a minute.

The underlying data for Gudbranson isn’t just troubling, it shows this team is having disastrous issues getting the puck out of its own end when he’s playing.

And at 26 years of age, Gudbranson is in his prime. It’s not going to get better. That is problematic, and why you could make the case that Polak may actually be better.

The rub? Polak signed a one-year, $1.1-million deal before this season, the type of contract replacement-level tough defencemen receive.

Vancouver GM Jim Benning has been telling media he wants to extend Gudbranson because of team toughness, or the lack of it.

It’s such an unreasonable position, many people believe Benning is posturing, using this angle to create more interest.

Benning has denied that’s his motivation. But he’s also been suggesting the loss of Derek Dorsett has increased Gudbranson’s value to the Canucks. That one is difficult to swallow. Gudbranson is nothing like Dorsett even when you get around the fact the two don’t even play the same position.

If you’re looking to replace Dorsett there are many who can do that role, including Darren Archibald, who is in Utica, N.Y., without an NHL contract.

Extending Gudbranson because he’s tough would rank among the most short-sighted decisions this organization has made in years.

It’s entirely possible all of this is moot. The Canucks have said they would only re-sign Gudbranson if the money made sense.

There is no way it’s going to make sense to this team to pay a third pairing blue-liner $4 million a year, and right now it’s difficult to imagine Gudbranson accepting much less than that.

Heck, the Canucks could get four or five tough guys who can’t control shots for $4 million a year total if it’s so important.

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